474: Chapter 470 You have committed an unforgivable crime

"I don't know what these are," Lu Jianchuan stared at the bulging pods.

Before he could finish, a stalk of wheat suddenly stiffened, its tip pointing in his direction. He didn't move, and neither did the wheat. Then, the pods beside it split open.

It wasn't the kind of splitting that happens with natural ripening; it was as if something had burst out from the inside. The moment the pod skin exploded, the emerald-green bean inside had already shot out.

Lu Jianchuan sidestepped. The bean grazed his shoulder and struck the wall behind him, blasting a small crater.

Without stopping, he pressed his Transformation Device, and silver-white armor instantly covered his entire body. Shen Mingyuan and Wei Ziqing transformed at the same time. Ye Ouyang was half a beat slower; golden fluid surged from his belt and solidified into armor on his body.

More pods began to split. Beans shot toward them like a rainstorm, dense and numerous, the sound of them breaking the air forming a continuous roar.

With dual pistols in hand, Shen Mingyuan fired black-red plasma bullets from his muzzles. One by one, each bullet accurately collided with an incoming bean.

The moment the beans were crushed, they exploded into a mass of green pulp, filling the air with the raw scent of fresh grass. He intercepted every single bean aimed at the four of them; not a single shot missed.

Wei Ziqing drew his bone sword and severed several vines attempting to circle around from the side.

The vines were growing. Not slowly, but surging out simultaneously from the base of the walls, the cracks in the foundation, and the charred stumps. They burrowed into the soil and the cracks in the concrete like countless snakes writhing beneath the earth.

Lu Jianchuan switched to Explosive Combustion Form. His thrusters fired, and flames erupted from his palms, incinerating the tangled mass of vines at the doorway into charcoal.

He kicked open the door, which was no longer recognizable, and charged inside.

Shen Mingyuan glanced at the vines still spreading outward and turned to Wei Ziqing and Ye Ouyang. "You two stay outside. Don't let these things grow any further. He and I will go in to save the people. Once we're out, we'll burn this place clean. There's no other way."

Wei Ziqing nodded. Ye Ouyang also nodded.

Shen Mingyuan turned and slipped through the scorched doorway. Just as he entered, new buds began to sprout from the charred vine stumps. New branches extended from the base of the walls, layering over each other to seal the entrance once more.

Wei Ziqing swung his sword, severing a vine lashing out at him, and sidestepped a bean flying in from the side.

Sword light flickered among the green foliage. The newly grown branches were cut into segments before him, still writhing as they fell to the ground.

Ye Ouyang crouched behind him, his claws glowing, ready to rush forward and heal at any moment. Wei Ziqing wasn't injured; he just kept slashing.

More and more vines grew, and the barrage of beans became increasingly dense.

Shen Mingyuan followed behind him, stepping on the charred fragments of vines. His voice came from behind his mask, carrying an indescribable tone.

"Are we really going to play Plants vs. Zombies? Earlier, Ye Ouyang's cells created a zombie, and now plants are shooting seeds at us. We even have Peashooters now; the set is complete. We're really going to be doing Plants vs. Zombies from now on."

Lu Jianchuan walked in front, gathering flames in his right hand to incinerate a vine lashing out from the side. "That's actually not bad."

"I actually hoped to cultivate intelligent plants. When I was a kid, I wanted to grow things like that—Peashooters, Sunflowers, and so on."

"I thought it'd be interesting, like having a friend. If they can really be grown now, it'll fulfill a childhood dream of mine."

As he spoke, he clenched his right hand. The flames erupting from his palm caused the tangled branches ahead to shrivel up. He grabbed the charred vines, pulled hard to tear an opening, and kicked aside the obstructing debris.

The severed, burnt branches fell to the ground behind him, smoke rising from the cuts; they didn't grow back.

"I can't maintain this form for long," his voice was slightly tighter than before. "Quickly, use your perception to find where the people are."

"OK." Shen Mingyuan's visor flickered. Ultrasound waves rippled out from the biological membrane vibrator on his chest, and the returning signals wove a 3D web in his mind.

Vines, leaves, wheat stalks, peas—these things were everywhere. He ran a thermal scan but saw no human-shaped heat sources. He scanned again.

"Strange, I can't detect any heat sources. The ultrasound is messy too; there are too many plant vines here." His gaze settled in a certain direction. "There... there's a little bit. Very weak. Could they be wrapped inside the plants? Let's go deeper."

"Alright." Lu Jianchuan didn't ask more and continued inward. The ground beneath them had been pushed unevenly by the vines. The plaster was peeling off the walls, revealing red bricks whose crevices were stuffed with roots.

They passed through the corridor and turned past the stairwell. The plants became denser. Wheat stalks hung from cracks in the ceiling, brushing against their helmets. Lu Jianchuan kicked open a door; inside was a conference room.

The long table, chairs, and projection screen were all gone.

The entire room was filled with wheat. Golden stalks piled from the floor to the ceiling, so dense that even light couldn't penetrate.

Each stalk of wheat was as long as an arm, hanging heavily with grains so plump they seemed ready to burst from their husks. Lu Jianchuan stood at the door, looking at the golden, almost flowing wave of grain.

"If the research really succeeded, there certainly wouldn't be a shortage of food. This growth capability is too strong." He paused. "We still need to think this through carefully."

"Also," Shen Mingyuan's voice came from the side, "we're getting closer to the heat source I saw earlier. It's just one floor up."

"Alright." Lu Jianchuan looked up at the ceiling. It was also covered in wheat, hanging densely from the cracks in the floor slabs. "Let's hurry." He raised his hand, clenching his fist as flames danced between his fingers. "By the way, is this a load-bearing wall?"

Shen Mingyuan was stunned for a moment. "Wait, what are you planning to do?"

Lu Jianchuan didn't answer and punched the ceiling. Debris and wheat fell together, revealing the pitch-black space on the floor above. He kicked off the ground and jumped up.

Shen Mingyuan stood below, looking up at the hole and sighing. "I thought you'd take the stairs." He jumped up as well.

The two jumped through the hole. Before their feet even touched the ground, peas were already flying toward them.

It wasn't one by one like before; it was an overwhelming swarm of small beans, so dense it was like an entire beehive had been overturned.

Shen Mingyuan's dual pistols were already in hand. Black-red bullets sprayed from his muzzles one after another, as fast as a line, shattering all the incoming beans in mid-air.

Bean residue and juice exploded, splashing onto his armor, but he didn't even flinch. His arms moved rapidly in front of him; wherever his muzzles pointed, a cloud of green mist erupted.

His movements were as fluid as a calibrated machine—aim, fire, switch targets, fire again. There were no redundant motions and not a single wasted bullet.

Lu Jianchuan stood beside him and watched for a moment.

"Don't make yourself dizzy. Save some energy." He raised both hands, and the vents in his palms opened simultaneously. Flames exploded from him—not in streams, but surging out from every gap in his armor at once.

The newly sprouted vines shriveled, blackened, and shattered in the flames, their roots severed before new buds could even form.

Peashooters bulged from the base of the leaves, but their moisture was baked out before they could split. They hung shriveled on the vines or fell to the ground, crumbling into powder.

When the flames subsided, only charred residue remained within a few meters.

Shen Mingyuan lowered his guns, staring at the ground where nothing was left, then glanced at his smoking gun barrels.

"Why?" His voice came from behind his mask, carrying a sincere, heartfelt confusion. "Why is it that no matter how hard I try with my mechanics, I can't beat a stat monster?"

He glanced at Lu Jianchuan, then at the smoking vine residue.

"My current version is still too weak. I need a buff." He paused. "Children."